thanks to the votes of democrats and republicans in congress. i will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of americans while preventing a middle class tax hike that could have sent the economy back in a recession and obviously had a severe impact on families across america. >> the fiscal cliff avoided for now in one final late night vote in washington. good evening. happy new year. i'm cheryl jennings. dan ashley and carolyn johnson have the night off. it means most of us, most of us will avoid a big income tax hike. it came after a bitter debate,

but as one republican congressman said tonight, you have to know when to hold em and know when to fold em. now more from karen travers. >> after months of drama and last-minute negotiations congress finally passed legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff. after the vote, a rare late-night statement from president obama. >> this law is just one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden the opportunity for everybody. >> lawmakers completely blew their deadline. they didn't get the grand bargain that both parties claim was their ultimate goal. but tonight both democrats and republicans gave themselves credit forgetting something done. >> this is a very, very strong first step. >> this is an important one. this is a critical one for the future of the country. >> there was considerable happened wringing about a lack of spending cuts. some wanted to add them in, but ultimately there weren't enough votes to get it

passed. the bill was overwhelming bipartisan support would extend tax cuts for all tax earners earning less than $400,000 a year and tax hikes on those estates worth $5 million. and benefits set to expire for some two million people. since congress missed the january 1st midnight deadline, technically the country did go over the fiscal cliff, but bypassing the compromise deal in the house and the senate, congress can try to take credit for retroactive tax cuts. >> to avoid this fiscal cliff, they set up new ones. in just two months they will have to deal with the spending cuts they put off and have a nasty fight over the debt ceiling. karen travers, abc news, washington. stocks hit a five-month high after the house voted. many were worried if the vote had failed, it may have pushed the u.s. into a recession. now the real test comes tomorrow when the stock exchange opens in new york at

6:30 in the morning. we're going to have more on that. that begins at 4:30 a.m. president obama left washington late tonight. he is returning to hawaii to rejoin his family for a vacation. the president interrupted his traditional christmas holiday to work with lawmakers to prevent the economy from going over that so-called fiscal cliff. we have a cold night ahead with temperatures dropping into the 20s and 30s. we caught folks in union square bundled up in their winter jackets to ward off the cold. abc7's spencer christian is here with live doppler 7hd. >> temperatures are falling as we speak. here is a look at live doppler 7hd. cloud free, rain-free and clear skies, but cold in the bay area. here is a look at our 10:00 temperature readings. we are waiting for the most recent to come in. even an hour ago it was down to 36 at napa and fairfield 35 at santa rosa and 34 at livermore and low 40s in many other locations. it is going to be a cold night.

as a result of this unusually cold weather we have a freeze warning in affect until 9:00 tomorrow morning for most of the north bay. the low temperatures will drop between 24 and 28 dries. 28 degrees. freeze damage to crops is a possibility. we have a frost advisory until 9:00 tomorrow morning for the bay shoreline and the santa clara valley. look for low temperatures in those areas to drop to the 30s, low 30s, 30 to 34 degrees. sensitive outdoor plants at risk. i'll give you a closer look at where you are and the complete seven-day forecast in a few minutes. cheryl? >> spencer, thank you. well, a tragic start to the new year in san francisco where two innocent people were killed by a driver trying to get away from police. we have dramatic new video of that driver's arrest. police say the man was speeding away from a traffic stop after reports of a shooting in the mission district and then slammed into another car and a pedestrian. it was at 21st and south van ness at 8:00 this morning. john alsten is live where an

innocent victim is being treated. >> last we heard the driver of the car that was hit is still in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. police say he just happened to be in the path of a car that was speeding away from officers who had just made a traffic stop. police moved in just minutes after the fatal crash. around 8:00 a.m. a neighbor recorded video of officers approaching the black chevy immediately after it plowed into a white toyota slamming that car into the front of a corner store. a passenger in the toyota was killed along with a 26-year-old man who just happened to be on the sidewalk. a surveillance camera pointed at the front door showed the exact moment of impact which almost made a store employee another one of the ingnaw sent -- innocent victims. >> it is really scary. one minute you are here and the second minute you are gone. my employee was seconds away from being hit by the door

that got hit by the car. >> the chain of events began when police got a call that shots were fired from a black chevy at a public housing complex at 15th and valencia. a few blocks from the store officers stopped a car matching that description. >> officers were exiting the vehicle. the vehicle was reported to have a firearm in it. object -- obviously it was a shots fired call. the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed and ran through the next two intersections. >> the medical examiner identified the pedestrian as 26-year-old francisco gutierrez. the passenger who died in the toyota was identified by her brother-in-law as 29-year-old silvia toonconn. the driver of the black chevy was also hurt and talken into custody. the owner of the store spent the first night of the year boarding up his business and trying to put what happened into perspective. >> it is a bad start, but let's hope this is the end of

the bad things for this year. >> police say they found a gun in the suspect's car and the gang task force has been called in to investigate. the suspect is known to police, but he did not elaborate. in san francisco, john alston, abc7 news. >> thank you. the last we've heard is that the driver of the car that was hit is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. police say he happened to be in the path of another car that was speeding away from officers who made a traffic stop. a man has been found dead after being swept out to the ocean by a huge wave in marin county. the man and woman were walking their dog along point reyes yesterday afternoon. a massive wave hit them knocking the woman deep into the water. the man was able to pull her free, but then the dog was swept in. when the man tried to rescue the dog he was swept away by a fast-moving current. the dog managed to swim back to shore. sky 7hd followed the search by

local coast guard crews. after four hours they pulled the man's body from the water. hundreds of people turned out in fremont to offer prayers and express their anger over the gang rape and murder of a young woman in india. abc7 news reporter alan wopping will have that -- alan wang will have that story for us in a moment. a well-known television personality appears on air just weeks after being seriously burned in a fire. coming up next, the brave face in front of an audience of millions. and abc7's mike shumann was there for celebrations. and a tragic accident tonight involving a photograph ter -- photographer trying to track down justin bieber. and then late other "nightline." >> i'm terry moran. coming up next on "nightline" the american man living a nightmare. jailed in a south american prison. he is now out on bail. the "nightline" investigation

that took us inside his personal hell. plus my co anchor bill weir goes inside [ fingers tapping ] [ rain pattering ] [ heels clicking ] [ female announcer ] yoplait light tastes great now... ♪ ...and feels great later 20 delicious flavors of yoplait light,

now at 90 calories each. yoplait, it is so good! se me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app.

i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! my bowl, my spoons! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios has whole grain and 110 delicious calories. ...more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios in multi-grain cheerios peanut butter.

hundreds of people turned out to offer prayers and express their anger over the gang rape and murder of a woman in india. alan wang has the story. >> let's make a difference. >> the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in new delhi struck a nerve in fremont where the largest indian community came to pray at the hindu temple. >> it is too brutal and hit home. >> even though six men have been arrested and charged, protesters in new delhi and around the world are calling for a changing in-laws to protect women. >> it is a matter of safety. it is a matter of pride. it is a matter of dignity, and we have to altogether no matter whether you are a man or woman, we all have to fight. >> of the hundreds who came to pray, many say it represents a clash between old world

culture and india's new modern society. now they plan to take action. >> i think we need to send a petition to the indian government to make sure they have faster action to be taken. >> many hope this incident will shed light on other women's rights issues. >> i would say things like right to property, getting equal opportunity for jobs. >> according to the new york times, rapes in india have increased 25% over the past five years. there were 600 rapes in new delhi last year, but only one conviction. >> because it is like a shameful thing for them. how will they face society? that's the reason a lot of these cases are buried. >> people pointed out that crimes like this gang rape don't just happen in india. they are hoping this incident will trigger a worldwide outcry for more laws to protect women and their rights. in fremont, alan wang, abc7 news. >> espn anchor was back on air three weeks after she was

badly burned in a propane gas explosion in her own backyard. she hosted today's rose bowl parade on abc7. she was severely burned when she tried to relight a gas grill that went out. she lost half her hair and suffered injuries to her face and neck as well as her left hand. >> i spent an hour in hair and make up. i have on false eyelashes. this is all fake hair. when the make up artist brushed an eyebrow on me i almost stood up and kissed her this morning. it is a long, it is a hard road for burn victims. i was by far the most fortunate person in my burn unit. >> my goodness. well she plans to use her ordeal to talk to people on how to operate propane gas grills safely. stanford football fans are celebrating the tomb's first rose bowl vic -- the team's first rose bowl victory in years. they were cheering on the cardinals from the patio

sports bar and grill. mike shumann has more from the rose bowl in pasadena. >> they call her the grand daddy of them all, and rightfully so in this the 99th version of the rose bowl pitting stanford and wisconsin. these fans have different opinions about their schools and tailgating. >> brain yaks versus boozers. >> nerds against curds. that's how we are looking at it. >> they have crackers and we have sausage and beer. >> more sophisticated. better fans. >> and the striped pants. we don't want any of that. >> the stripes is actually, they have been going to badger games since 1940. >> is this what they wear when they pick up trash in wisconsin?

>> if it gets a victory, then yes. >> this is wisconsin's third straight rose bowl, but they lost the last two, while stanford hasn't been here since 2000 and has not won since 1972. after 40 years stanford finally got another rose bowl victory. >> as a stanford alum, this is as good as it gets. i hopefully will see this again in my lifetime. >> what was the most exciting part of the game for you? >> just the stress on the end and knowing our defense was coming up big. >> nerds, you gotta love it. >> it was a great game. it came down to the last drive. >> it's okay. i think we are all glad we got here in the first place. >> it will be a long flight home. >> well drive for us. >> it makes my flight not sound so bad. both teams had a good time win or lose, but stanford is feeling a lot better with the victory. reporting at the rose bowl in pasadena, mike shumann, abc7

news. >> and of course larry beil will have all of the highlights a little later in sports. a photographer died tonight while trying to track down singer justin bieber. bieber's white ferrari was pulled over for a traffic stop when a photographer arrived and tried to get a close up. when he crossed the road a car hit him. bieber wasn't even in the ferrari at the time. the ice rink at san francisco's union square was putting its own twist on the old polar bear plunge. instead of diving into icy waters, skaters wer encouraged to wear bathing suits and beach wear. there was a contest for best bathing suit and a danceoff on the ice. it probably feels like ice. spencer christian is here with the accu-weather forecast. >> it is quite icy out there right now. let's look at live doppler 7hd. you can see that the skies are cloud free and the conditions are rain-free. clear skies and the temperatures are plummeting. it is down to the mid30s.

napa, fairfield, livermore, mountain view, san jose. 35 in los gatos. it is really getting cold. these are the highlights. a freeze warning for the north bay. frost advisory for many other bay other locations. sunny days through friday. and then a slight chance of showers this weekend. we expect low temperatures to drop into the 20s in many locations in the north bay valleys and the inland east bay valleys. and by the way, spare the air is in affect through tomorrow. we have dropping temperatures and declining air quality. satellite shows a dry flow of cold air coming right through the bay area to the east, northeast. and this dry pattern will hold at least until friday and perhaps even longer. we have some moisture and clouds offshore. but they may not produce rainfall for us. this dry pattern could last right on through the weekend. tomorrow, sunny skies after a frosty morning. look for the high temperatures in the south bay. in the mid50s from san jose to santa clara. on the peninsula, we will see highs in the mid50s. 54 in san mateo and 55 in

paloaly to. low to mid50s on the coast at pacifica and half moon bay. downtown san francisco will see a high of 53 tomorrow, 52 in the sunset district in the north bay. 53 san rafael and 55 in santa rosa and calistoga 54, sonoma and napa. east bay look for highs at 55 at oakland, fremont, union city and castro valley. the inland east bay will be cooler than that with highs in the low to mid50s. 53 at concord and danville and dublin and pleasanton. the mildest weather around the region. upper 50s to almost 60. look for highs of 58 in hollister, 59 in salinas. here is the accu-weather seven-day forecast. mainly sunny and dry days. clouds will increase a bit over the weekend. there is a slight chance of showers on sunday, but not a very great one, and then we have sunny and dry conditions on monday and tuesday. notice it gets milder as we get closer to the weekend. high temperatures near 60 degrees friday through tuesday. >> thank you so much.

?ai all right, well, coming up next. >> sports. >> that's right. good because you are sitting right here. >> i just wander in occasionally. we joked with stanford coach david shaw from the so-called bullies from biology class. they used their brute force to capture their first rose bowl in four decades. alright let's break it down. mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ faster than mandy can hang up on mr. monday. you hang up first. [ female announcer ] in just 60 seconds, you've got

snack-defying, satisfying totino's pizza rolls. [ ringing ] it's on. let's roll.

totino's pizza rolls. [ ringing ] we are all reflections of the people who came before us. at new york life, everything we do is to help you keep good going. ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ [ female announcer ] at nature valley, we know nature comes together in amazing ways. that's why we bring together natural ingredients, like dark chocolate with toasted oats, or sweet golden honey. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪

♪ i was thinking that i hope this never ends ♪ [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. stanford football fans came up with the best line to describe their first trip in the rose bowl in 13 years and their win that ended a four-decade drought. we came, we shaw and we conquered. that's in honor of david shaw. from the wild cat formation and reverse wide receiver and a gain of 34. and then they run another reverse. they fake to taylor and then give it to kelsey young with a blocker in front. 16 yards for the score. taylor, 20 carries and 88 yards. a modest day. this touchdown here 14-0 stanford.

looks like a blowout in progress, but the badgers hang tough. a nice cut there and a jump cut to get into the hole. scampers the 11 yards and it is a 14-7 game. cardinals up by three at the half. almost no offense in the second half. jordan williamson and stanford up 20-14. wisconsin driving and two minutes left. needing a touchdown to win it. he seals the deal for the cardinals. stanford wins their first rose bowl since 1972. that was before spencer even got to gma. 2014 was the final. do they even have gma? mike shumann on the field with a victorious coach shaw. >> how does it feel? >> it feels great. it feels great. getting over the things we could have done better. but the guys played hard and as usual we kept it close. >> culminating in a rose bowl victory and the grand daddy of

them all. >> vincent smith meet clowney, happy new year. it is the hit of the year on the first day of the year. michigan and south carolina in the out back bowl. 15 seconds left. dillon thompson and bruce ellington and good night, game over and drive home safely. a 32-yard touchdown as the gamecocks of south carolina stunned michigan in the final moments 33-28. nfl news and the 49ers may have a new kicker in the playoffs. today they signed a 10-year veteran who has bounced around some. this after david akers missed two more field goals. he hit on 69 percent. he had notable misses like last year in the afc championship game. he was cut by the redskins this midseason. he may have open competition for the kicking job and practice this week. from the nba the warriors will welcome blake griffin and the clippers. this is how he welcomed blake. the clips had won 17 games in

a row. the nuggets ending that. mcgee with a wingspan of a tara -- teradactyl. 92-78 nuggets the final. the clippers 17-game win streak comes to an end and they xome to -- they come to oakland against the warriors. abc7 sports brought brought to you by river rock casino. >> coming up next, celebrate new year's eve all over again in less than 15 seconds.

it is time now for a look at your wake up weather. tomorrow morning 7:25 it will be sunrise time. we will have freezing cold conditions in land. frost econ decisions around the bay. temperatures reaching 27 degrees in the coldest spots up to about 40. bundle up.

it will be cold tomorrow morning. >> spencer, thank you. now what is buzzing around the world? the rose parade provided a colorful backdrop for a surprise reunion of military families reuniting after their father flew in from afghanistan. he road in on a float. it is goodbye gangnam. he says the performance was his last, at least in the united states. he performed in paris and china for the next few months. he says he will spend his next time working on a new song. in case you missed the fireworks display on the san francisco waterfront, here it is. in 13 seconds here is how it looked from the east bay. spectra media core treated us. from start to finish it was 15 minutes. that's a beautiful thing. "nightline" is next. thanks for watching. abc7 news continues at 4:30. we are always available at

abc7news.com, facebook, twit -- twitter [ fingers tapping ] [ rain pattering ]

[ heels clicking ] [ female announcer ] yoplait light tastes great now... ♪ ...and feels great later 20 delicious flavors of yoplait light, now at 90 calories each. yoplait, it is so good! i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios!

my bowl, my spoons! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios has whole grain and 110 delicious calories. ...more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios in multi-grain cheerios peanut butter.

tonight on "nightline," the yearlong investigation into the american living a nightmare. jailed without charges in a south american prison, it's one of the toughest and strangest on earth. a story of injustice, corruption, faith, and one man's fight for freedom. extreme seal camp. jump out of a chopper. take a swim tied up like a hostage. shoot and be shot at. we go on one tough vacation where campers pay to train and sweat just like a real navy seal. and hangover helper. indulge in a few too many drinks this new year's eve? meet one man who claims he can help with your morning